Do not grow weary, youth leader
Leading people is an absolute grind. Sometimes it can feel like you are putting in a lot of work to see very little return in the physical. Im sure we’ve all asked ourselves why we chose to go into this profession or, better yet, questioning if God even called us to this work. I’m here […]
Remembering the Moments That Matter: How to Sustain Yourself in Ministry
This week, a student from ministry I did years ago reached out to me. They asked if we could get coffee to talk about what they are struggling with in their faith because they think I would be a good person to talk to about it. Honestly, I feel honored that they would consider me […]
Infiltrate not Invade
A goal, or at least should be a goal of every Youth Pastor, Student Ministry Pastor, Next Gen Pastor, or whatever you identify as these days, is to visit your students at the nearby schools. Many Student Ministers hope to be guest speakers of a club, service the “See You at The Pole,” or simply […]
The One Thing All Of Us Have To Offer Students
Reaching this next generation can feel like an incredibly daunting task. They are hard to read at times, can be easily offended, and are skeptical of people in positions of power. But they are also compassionate, justice-oriented, and want to make a difference in the world. How we interact with them and what we share […]
Can I Want Success For My Ministry?
I may be hitting a topic that you have wrestled with before. This question is weaved into our psyches in more ways than one; can I want success for my ministry? What is it about hearing a term like being “successful” that makes us think and evaluate our heart posture? I mean, we do know that it’s […]
Is conversation essential in Youth Ministry?
For the longest time in youth ministry, we have, like “big church,” preached a message that we expected youth to listen to. Within this framework, all of us have tried different things to keep students engaged. We may shorten the message, move around the format of the service, or have youth teach (which I think […]
Has technology stolen our telos?
I’ve been asking myself lately: How did our world get so confusing? It seems like the definitions of things have become broader and more expansive. Dialogue about ideas has been tamed for fear of judgment. Students seem more unsure about who they are and what is true than I have ever seen before. It appears […]
3 Essential Emphases In Youth Ministry
In a world of information, students are looking for the truth. They have never had more access to information, yet they are more confused than ever. Students in this generation usually talk about their emotions well, but they don’t control them and often can make unwise choices. They also want to be people who do […]
The Gospel Story in the Lives of Students: Why It Matters in a Postmodern Era
We are seeing social phenomena in this generation like never before. I say social because the rate at which some issues are growing is simply a statistical impossibility. Mental health is crumbling; gender identity is becoming more confusing by the day. The quest for the self is at an all-time high, but students are coming […]
Caring for the Heartbroken Teen
Living in the desert, we have our share of dangers—wildlife such as coyotes, javelina, various types of lizards, and of course, snakes. One, in particular, is the Rattle Snake which is a predator but also an opportunistic animal. It not only seeks out the prey, but it also lies in wait and strikes at the […]
